Memory: Some Key Terms • Memory: Active system that stores, organizes, alters, and recovers (retrieves) information • Encoding: Converting information into a useable form • Storage: Holding this information in memory for later use • Retrieval: Taking memories out of storage

Sensory Memory • Sensory memory: Storing an exact copy of incoming information for a few seconds or less (either what is seen or heard); the first stage of memory • Iconic memory: A mental image or visual representation • Echoic memory: After a sound is heard, a brief continuation of the activity in the auditory system

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Short-Term Memory (STM) • Storing small amounts of information briefly – Working memory: Part of STM; like a mental “scratchpad” – Selective attention: Focusing (voluntarily) on a selected portion of sensory input (e.g., selective hearing) – Phonetically: Storing information by sound; how most things are stored in STM • Very sensitive to interruption or interference